The Gift of the Gods
by Commando64
Summary: Aileen Hars was alone, afraid and wanted to die. Unfortunately, fate has a way of being cruel to people. Now stranded in the hostile wilderness of Wall Maria, Aileen has to fight to survive, confront mysterious humans, and of course, defend herself from Titans. Starring OC. May be rated M later for graphic scenes.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey people! I just had this idea for an SnK story. It's set before the Female Titan arc and, well, stars an OC. I hope you all enjoy it!**

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CHAPTER 1

**MOUTH**

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A young woman sat down on the branches of a tall tree, leaning against it, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Tears streamed from her eyes, although she made an effort not to make noise.

Aileen Hars was alone, afraid, and knew full well that sooner or later, she was going to die.

It took two outside expeditions, but now, on the 56th Survey Corps expedition to the hostile lands of Wall Maria, her luck had finally run out. Her group was run down by a group of Titans before an Aberrant jumped in front of them, blocking their path and causing them to be surrounded on all sides by the abominations. Aileen had used the 3DMG to swing to the nearest trees and, by sheer luck, the Titans failed to notice her.

The cries of her comrades who entered the Corps together with her as she fled the scene like a coward, as her closest friends screamed at the knowledge that they were going to be eaten alive haunted her nightmares for the past night. They had cried out to her to come back…and she had done nothing but run away…

She hoped that they met a quick end.

There was only one sword left. Her 3DMG was out of gas, so there was no clear way to escape any Titans now other than leaping between the trees. She had heard some old legend about Oriental warriors who would stab themselves with a sword to die an honourable death than be slain by the enemy. Would she do the same to herself?

Aileen took a deep breath, and positioned the blade above her stomach. She lifted it, ready to stab.

And then her grip faltered. The sword dropped. Aileen was panting in fear as she realized what she was about to do.

This was not honour. This was cowardice. Would she want to be remembered as the mouse who ran away before killing herself to be spared a horrible death? Would her fallen friends have approved of this?

This was not the way to go. She had one sword left. She gazed up as she remembered the night she and her friends made up the choice to join the Survey Corps. Not for wealth, or ranks, or promotions, but for humanity. She had broken down in tears as she was declared an official member of humanity's best hope and put on the robes with the Wings of Freedom on them for the first time.

She looked back at her sword. It was still sharp, but not for long. It would probably dull out or break after just a few more uses.

She had made her decision. For the sake of humanity, she would kill at least one Titan with the sword. Once it became useless, only then would she welcome death, knowing that she died for the greater good.

She crept along the tree branch, and hesitantly leapt over them one by one. There didn't seem to be any Titans here for some reason. It felt almost too quiet-

And then she saw it. As she jumped over a large gap, she saw the same Aberrant that ruined her life, jumping up with its mouth wide open.

"NO-" Aileen said as her body was enveloped in the Titan's mouth. The jaws slammed shut, and she fell down into the abyss.

Fate was cruel today. She could not even carry out her final wish before being eaten by this eldritch monster. But for some reason, she didn't feel herself landing into the chasm that was the Titan's belly, surrounded by the corpses of its previous victims. In fact, it felt like everything was…going black…

Darkness overcame Aileen, and she fell unconscious.

When she felt herself coming to, she could hear…birds?

_What the hell?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Maybe last chapter didn't get a lot of reviews, but I'm gonna continue anyway! You reviewers are what keep stories going, anyway. Anyway, on with the story!**

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CHAPTER 2

**ARRIVAL**

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Aileen slowly got up. Birds chirped all around her; the scent of flowers in the air. As she took note of her surroundings, she realized she was surrounded by…flowers?

For whatever reason, she was in the middle of a flower clearing. The fresh smell, coupled with the happy birds and bright sunshine almost made her think she was in paradise. However, a thousand questions raced through her mind.

How did she get here? Was this heaven? Was she dead? Or was she alive? Was she still outside Wall Rose? Were there Titans around?

As she got to her feet, she noticed, for the first time, the strange tattoo on the back of her hand. It was a stylized Oriental dragon, swirling toward the centre, and in the centre was what appeared to be a love-shaped heart, the dragon's jaws closing around it.

Aileen positively did not remember having such a tattoo, nor did she remember the scrunched-up paper that fell out of her jacket. Although she did not want to see its contents, Aileen unwrapped it.

_Follow the signs. It will help you live._

Puzzled by whoever gave her that tattoo and put the paper into her jacket, Aileen looked at her surroundings a little closer. It was then that she noticed the roughly-carved arrow on one of the trees. Although it was true that she did not trust this stranger, whoever he was, there was no other indication of where she was in the clearing.

"Better than nothing, I guess," Aileen said to herself.

The sign pointed her deeper into the forest, where she saw other vague arrows pointing into the brush. After going the directed of the second arrow, she paused.

There was a slight, but definite vibration coming from the ground. Although she was not very experienced, any Survey Corps member who survived their first expedition knew what it was.

She dived into the bushes and stayed low as the Titan came into view. It did not seem very interested in the forest, so it gazed around for a few moments before turning and heading the other way.

The Titan's appearance seemed to confirm that she was still somewhere in Wall Maria( she did not want to believe she was outside the Walls themselves), so at least that made her prepare to start running should she encounter anymore Titans.

One arrow led to another, but Aileen continued to follow them, despite the fact that they seemed to be endless. There were no other leads for her to follow, and to stray off-track could potentially mean her death, judging by the Titans around. Several times she felt the rumbling of a nearby Titan, but she got low and didn't see them before they went away.

Of course, one's spirit can only last so long after multiple possible near-deaths with Titans, and by the fifth time she crouched low in the bushes after feeling the earth vibrate, she was sweating and breathing profusely, wondering when her luck would run out for the second time. Judging by the sun's position, she had been following the signs for near an hour. Her trainer had said before that she had the best score in unaided navigation. She smiled at the memory of her trainer complimenting her for it, noting the irony of the fact that she was navigating via carved arrows now.

Aileen had been following the fifth arrow for some time when she came across a strange house. Smoke was coming out the chimney. Could that mean there was someone living there? But how could there still be people in Wall Maria?

"H-Hello? Is anyone here?..." Aileen said as she slowly opened the door.

The house was completely empty, its contents stripped of supplies. For some reason, the fire was still going. The smoke belching out the chimney outside almost seemed to act like a beacon of some sort. There was nothing left in the house, except for the painted arrow that pointed downwards a trapdoor.

"_I don't like this…"_ Aileen thought as she descended into the basement.

Or, at least, what looked like the basement. All it contained were a few crates and a long, black tunnel.

Another arrow was painted on it, this time accompanied by the words '_PARADISE'._

By this time, Aileen was getting very suspicious. Was all this direction-pointing really proof that there were still humans in Wall Maria? Was it all a product of her imagination, designed to help her cope with the idea of slow death in the belly of a Titan?

She decided that the answer lay in the tunnel ahead. She took a short break, resting on one of the boxes, and moved on.

And on.

And on.

The tunnel seemed to be endless. It felt like it was stretching from the countryside to the city, almost long enough to be ridden through with a horse for quite some time.

At long last, she came across a ladder. What caught her attention first, however, was the skeleton sitting at the bottom of it. Its right wrist was tightly bound in a chain leading to the ladder, and it appeared to have starved to death, judging by the lack of external damage upon the skeleton.

On the wall behind it were the words _'UNFAITHFUL'._

"God…," Aileen said as she put her hand to her mouth. Even after all this time, humanity's greatest enemy was still the fact that they were unwilling to work together to overcome the Titans and preferred killing each other instead. The thought revolted her.

And besides, she was never one to like her fellow humans dying, even if they deserved it.

"I hope you didn't suffer long," Aileen said sadly to the remains before she ascended the ladder. It didn't take long, and opened another trapdoor, finding herself in yet another building, although this one was on the ground level.

Light poured in through the stained window glass, revealing the messy condition of the house that seemed to have been abandoned in a hurry.

"What…," Aileen said as she opened the front door, disbelief in her eyes.

Before her was a place she knew. She used to come here, when her family visited her cousins. It was on this very place she met her best friends, Eris and Aresh. The same friends she left to die.

Before her was the main market street of Shiganshina.

The Shiganshina Ruins.

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**Well, that wraps it up for now, people! I hope more reviews, negative or positive, come in, because reviews are what keep this story running! It's fuel! To the engine that is me! Chapter 3 will be uploaded soon! Until then, enjoy!**


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